Pitt vs. Vandy

[weathertalk]

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So... I got into Pitt but was waitlisted at Vandy. Is there any advantage that Vandy has over pitt? They seem like pretty similar schools to me...

Any and all info (anecdotal, numeric, etc.) would be welcome.

 

[EndSong]

They're both very excellent schools but there are some small differences:

1. Pitt is the only medical school in Western Penn so they have a monopoly over possible clinical experiences.

2. Vandy is on a very traditional schedule that almost has a 9 to 5 schedule whereas Pitt is more modern and partly PBL.

3. Both require a research project.

4. Pitt outranks Vandy on the US news list and overall NIH funding.

5. Nashville has better weather than Pittsburgh.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

They're both very excellent schools but there are some small differences:

1. Pitt is the only medical school in Western Penn so they have a monopoly over possible clinical experiences.

umm...What about LECOM? or do osteopathic schools not count?

4. Pitt outranks Vandy on the US news list and overall NIH funding.

16 vs. 17?

5. Nashville has better weather than Pittsburgh.

the most overrated thing about the south: the weather

 

[BellyDancingDoc]

> 1 in 4 Vandy students gets some merit-based aid- which probably includes some folks off the waitlist.

Have you heard the final word as to whether you'd be considered for merit aid? If not, I'd keep pushing my Vandy app until I got an acceptance and knew my financial aid package.

 

[Bubblehead-to-MD]

umm...What about LECOM? or do osteopathic schools not count?

While EndSong was definitely wrong about Pitt being the only medical school in western Penn, he was correct about the monopoly of UPMC. Most recently, three major hospitals in Pittsburgh caved in due to near bankruptcy, and became part of UPMC. Pitt's affiliation with UPMC has a lot to do with its position in the US News & WR rankings.

This is not to say that LECOM students are not able to rotate through UPMC hospitals - I would be willing to bet that they do.

 

[Stolenspatulas]

> 1 in 4 Vandy students gets some merit-based aid- which probably includes some folks off the waitlist.

Have you heard the final word as to whether you'd be considered for merit aid? If not, I'd keep pushing my Vandy app until I got an acceptance and knew my financial aid package.

i sincerely doubt that any waitlist kids at vandy are/were offered merit-based aid on chance that they were accepted off of the waitlist. Why would they offer meritbased aid to someone that they did not deem worthy for initial acceptance?

Most vandy merit scholarships are offered around the time of second-look wkend. Most, I would guess, are to students with acceptances to a lot of top 10 schools.

 

[Dr.Watson]

2. Vandy is on a very traditional schedule that almost has a 9 to 5 schedule whereas Pitt is more modern and partly PBL.

Vandy's completely overhauling their curriculum for the upcoming year. Less class time, PBL incorporated.

 

[searun]

I was told if you are on the waitlist at Vandy, forget it and move on because very few people get in from the waitlist. True?

 

[Go Time]

I was told if you are on the waitlist at Vandy, forget it and move on because very few people get in from the waitlist. True?

According to this year's USNews numbers:

Vanderbilt accepts 291 to fill a class of 105 matriculants

So, unless they are a school which heavily over-admits in anticipation of withdrawals, a good chunk of the class probably comes from the waitlist.

I'm waitlisted at Vanderbilt...so I'm biased! Does this sound reasonable to anyone else?

 

[EmbellisMaVie]

I can definitely sympathize... I'm trying to make a similar choice. I feel like a lot of people are trying to make this decision, and it sucks, because now both schools have the same Second Look weekend. To be honest, I liked Vanderbilt a lot more, but I think it was more a function of how the schools handled interview day than it was the actual schools.

Here's my take: quality of education and availability of resources at both schools are excellent. I think that, for most people, if you'd be happy at one, you'd be happy at the other. That's why waiting for financial aid information to come through is your best bet. Other than that, here are a few other differences I've gathered:

- Both have excellent dual degree options, but they offer different ones, and some are more popular than others. For the MD/MPH, Pitt has an excellent school of public health, while Vandy's is a little bit more limited. If you're interested in an MD/JD, Vanderbilt has the better law school. For an MBA, I think both schools are comparable. There's a whole array of other dual degree options unique to each school.
- The weather's nicers in TN, but you'll definitely need a car in Nashville. Pittsburgh is more walkable/public transportation-accessible, IMHO.
- Cost of living is almost exactly the same.
- Class size at Pitt is slightly larger (~150 vs. ~100 at Vandy).
- One of the complaints I heard at Pitt was about its financial aid (or lack thereof), and Vandy is known for its merit scholarships. Could just depend on the person, though. FWIW, average indebtedness at Pitt is about $20,000 more than at Vanderbilt, and Pitt is technically a state school. Go figure.
- Pitt offers PSTP and CSTP, which are five-year programs that integrate a year of research. Yes, it's an additional year in school, but the research year, you get a stipend ($10,000 or so). Five lucky students in each program don't have to pay a dime to go to med school, while three get a three-year scholarship. Pretty nice deal, if you're into clinical research.
- In terms of access to cool facilities, Pitt has the simulation center, while Vanderbilt has that fabulous new children's hospital.
- Students at both are pretty friendly and down-to-earth. The students at Vandy seemed a bit more laid-back/less stressed, but I only met a few students at Pitt. Vanderbilt does boast about its incredibly high student satisfaction, and I can believe it.
- As mentioned earlier, there's the Emphasis Program at Vandy. I happen to really like the idea of research automatically integrated into the curriculum, so for me, that's a plus.

Overall, a final decision between the two would probaby have more to do with your preferred setting, atmosphere, and your particular interests within medicine, than anything related to quality of education or opportunities. Good luck with the wait list. At the very least, no matter how this process turns out in the end, you'll still end up at a great school!

 

[Bubblehead-to-MD]

One of the complaints I heard at Pitt was about its financial aid (or lack thereof), and Vandy is known for its merit scholarships. Could just depend on the person, though. FWIW, average indebtedness at Pitt is about $20,000 more than at Vanderbilt, and Pitt is technically a state school. Go figure.

This is not true. Pitt is a private institution. Penn is also private.

 

[sprinkibrio]

According to this year's USNews numbers:

Vanderbilt accepts 291 to fill a class of 105 matriculants

So, unless they are a school which heavily over-admits in anticipation of withdrawals, a good chunk of the class probably comes from the waitlist.

I'm waitlisted at Vanderbilt...so I'm biased! Does this sound reasonable to anyone else?

But aren't there around 600 or 700 on the waitlist? They outright reject only 200 who had an interview. Is it really possible that 184 students who get in go somewhere else?

 

[EmbellisMaVie]

This is not true. Pitt is a private institution. Penn is also private.

Really? Wow. US News is spreading lies, all lies. (As if we didn't know that already.) So why is there in-state/out-of-state tuition (or is there)?

 

[Go Time]

But aren't there around 600 or 700 on the waitlist? They outright reject only 200 who had an interview. Is it really possible that 184 students who get in go somewhere else?

I haven't heard about a waitlist of that size. They supposedly interview almost 1000 though to offer those 291.

Yeah, it appears that a whole bunch of folks who are offered an acceptance at Vanderbilt end up enrolling somewhere else.

 

[Severus]

Really? Wow. US News is spreading lies, all lies. (As if we didn't know that already.) So why is there in-state/out-of-state tuition (or is there)?

To my knowledge most (all?) med schools in PA get some amount of funding from the state. It's probably not much in say Pitt/Penn's cases, but I believe my pre-med advisor said that the funds are why 1.) Pitt has a small discount for IS and 2.) they all tend to give a little preference in PA residents.

Or it could all be BS.

 

[Eric Lindros]

This is not true. Pitt is a private institution. Penn is also private.

The University of Pittsburgh became a state-related university in 1966. Same with Penn State.

There's basically three types of schools in PA, to my knowledge.

State Schools (Bloom, IUP, Cal U, etc)
State Related Schools aka good state schools that are basically private: Pitt, Penn State
Private Schools: Penn for example

 

[Eric Lindros]

To my knowledge most (all?) med schools in PA get some amount of funding from the state. It's probably not much in say Pitt/Penn's cases, but I believe my pre-med advisor said that the funds are why 1.) Pitt has a small discount for IS and 2.) they all tend to give a little preference in PA residents.

Or it could all be BS.

Pitt is lower tuition for inn state because it is state related. Think of it as being a "semi-state school" It's not state, but it's definitely not private (although it used to be) Penn State operates in the same way.

Penn is an example of a pure private school.

 

[Meeher]

I decided to revive this thread because I'm also trying to decide. I liked both schools, which makes it hard to choose 🙁. I have a slight preference for Vandy because of its new curriculum and overall administrative/faculty support of students (everyone seems to be real open and happy when dealing with medical students, something I did not really see at Pitt, but what do I know), but UPMC seemed like an awesome place to do clinical rotations. Wiser is also really nice, but then again, Vandy is building CELA, which is essentially the same thing--a high-tech simulation lab.

Grading is also essentially the same: at Vandy, it's P/F for first year, and H/P/F second year, whereas at Pitt, it's H/P/F first two years.

Not sure how I feel about Pittsburgh versus Nashville. I'm originally from LA, so I probably will like Nashville's milder weather more, but Pittsburgh itself seems like an interesting city to live in, even though it's a less populous city than Nashville (340k vs. 550k).

Even though the person (and not necessarily the school, except maybe for UChicago which has amazing students but still a comparatively low score) makes the Step 1 score, there is some evidence of usefulness in the comparison: Vandy's is between 15-20 pts above national mean, or 232-237, whereas Pitt's is at 227.

So far, like most people said, they seem very similar, and the problem is, I felt just as happy with both when I interviewed. I may just need to flip a coin or wait until finaid 🙁.

Any comments are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Dookter]

I'd pick Vandy. It's warmer, the students are happy, and it's in Nashville. All pluses in my book.

EDIT: I forgot to say: GO TO WHICHEVER IS CHEAPER!!!!!!